Indian Wells, USA, 13 October 2021 | Leigh Rogers

Alex de Minaur has recorded his first top-20 win since January to progress to the fourth round at Indian Wells.

The No.22-seeded Australian scored a 6-4 6-2 victory against Chile’s Cristian Garin in third-round action today, needing 92-minutes to rally past the No.13 seed.

It snaps a six-match losing streak for De Minaur against top 20-ranked opponents, stretching back to a semifinal victory against world No.16 David Goffin during his title-winning run at Antalya in January.

The impressive victory against world No.17 Garin provides a much-needed confidence boost for De Minaur. The 22-year-old Australian had not won consecutive matches since June and entered the tournament with a single win from his past eight matches.

This is De Minaur’s career-best result at the ATP Masters 1000 event too, bettering second-round appearances in 2018 and 2019.

https://twitter.com/TennisTV/status/1448145245363900416?s=20

Yet to lose a set in the Californian desert, De Minaur sets up a fourth-round showdown with world No.3 Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Tsitsipas leads their head-to-head record 5-0 in tour-level main draw matches, with De Minaur’s sole victory against the 23-year-old Greek in qualifying at an ATP Challenger tournament on grass in 2017.

Unfortunately Ajla Tomljanovic’s career-best run in the women’s singles draw ended in the fourth round, with German Angelique Kerber recording a 6-4 6-1 victory.

The 28-year-old Australian converted only one of her five break point opportunities in the 86-minute match today.

Tomljanovic had been looking to record her third consecutive top-40 win, but proved no match for the three-time Grand Slam champion.

John Peers and Slovak Filip Polasek have progressed to the men’s doubles quarterfinals, posting a 6-4 7-6(5) victory against Dutch combination Wesley Koolhof and Jean-Julien Rojer in the second round.

The seventh-seeded duo, who have now won 10 of their past 12 matches, face top-seeded Croatians Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic in the quarterfinals.

Aussies in action – Indian Wells

RESULTS
Men’s singles, third round
[22] Alex de Minaur (AUS) d [13] Cristian Garin (CHI) 6-4 6-2

Women’s singles, fourth round
[10] Angelique Kerber (GER) d Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS) 6-4 6-1

Men’s doubles, second round
[7] John Peers (AUS)/Filip Polasek (SVK) d Wesley Koolhof (NED)/Jean-Julien Rojer (NED) 6-4 7-6(5)

COMING UP
Men’s singles, fourth round
[22] Alex de Minaur (AUS) v [2] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE)

Men’s doubles, quarterfinals
[7] John Peers (AUS)/Filip Polasek (SVK) v [1] Nikola Mektic (CRO)/Mate Pavic (CRO)